13
Hate Mail
“Put together a million man march With some gangsta shit.”
âSNOOP DOGG/TUPAC
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he next morning I decide to go to the library at break and get started on my English paper due next week rather than look for my girls or Jeremy. I'm exhausted with all of them. Just my luck, Misty is sitting next to the only available computer and I don't have time to come back any other day this week since we're rehearsing at lunch and after school for the next two days. I guess even big mouths have to study at some point.
“Hey, Jayd,” Misty says, smacking on her Juicy Fruit. “How's the date hunt coming?” she says, taking her backpack out of the empty chair so I can sit down.
“Just fine. How are the leftovers?” I say, giving her a snide look. She's got too much confidence now, making her that much more annoying.
“Oh, they're good. Real good,” she says, popping her gum and pissing off the librarian, who promptly shushes her.
“Whatever, Misty. I need to work so could you not talk to me for a good ten minutes, please,” I plead. I have no time to waste this morning.
“Touchy, touchy. See, if you had a Black man you could work off some of that aggravation,” she says, shaking her big hips in the small, wooden chair. She can be so nasty when she wants to be.
“Shut the hell up talking to me with all that bull,” I say, trying to ignore her while surfing the Web. I log onto the Internet and check my e-mail, which is completely full. I don't have a computer at either my mom's or Mama's house. So, the only time I can get online is at school.
As Misty continues to send her hater rays my way, I sift through the many e-mails, stopping at one in particular. It has no sender and looks as if it's been forwarded to all the club lists at school with Nellie's name in the subject line. I wonder what this is. Maybe Seth sent out an anonymous flier promoting Nellie. When I open the picture I'm stunned to find a picture of Nellie changing clothes in the girl's locker room with Monifa's
Touch It
playing in the background. It's a full picture of her ass in a g-string. What the hell?
“Oh, shit,” Misty says, spying over my shoulder. “Where did that come from?” she says. It's bad enough it's all over the Internet. Now Misty's going to have it all over school in no time.
“Misty, you can't tell anyone about this,” I say, logging off the computer and picking up my bag, ready to bolt out the door. My paper will have to wait for another day. Right now I have to see who else knows about this and more importantly, if Nellie knows yet.
“Girl, I ain't got nothing to gain from spreading this around campus,” Misty says, sounding sincere. “Besides, we both want the same thing for a change. The Black girl to win. And even though most of the dudes in South Central are athletes, we all want the same results,” she says, sounding like she's got an idea. “If we find out who would benefit the most from Nellie's humiliation, then we'll also find out who did it,” she says, looking like she's ready for a spy mission. How is it that Misty's offering to help me and my home girl is tripping? I feel like I'm in a warped reality.
“And how do you suppose we do that?” I ask, ready to leave her behind. I've got to get to Nellie before someone else does. I don't know if she's strong enough for this type of humiliation.
“If you'd listen for a minute I'll tell you,” Misty says, slowing me down as I walk out the door toward South Central. “We can get all the athletes to put their ears to the ground. You know, locker rooms talk. And, that picture was apparently taken in the girl's locker room,” Misty says, starting to make sense. If it's one thing she's good at it's scheming.
“So, you think they could find out who took the picture?” I ask. “Like anyone's going to fess up,” I say, not really believing her plan will work.
“Oh, but they will if they haven't already.”
“OK, Misty. See what you can find out in South Central and in the meantime I'll text Seth and ask him to take this off the web,” I say, hardly believing I'm collaborating with Misty of all people. But, it's always better to have two cliques working together. There's just more power that way. And, if anyone can crack a computer code, it's Seth.
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After plotting away break, I rush to third period, finding a sub in for Mrs. Peterson. This day is looking up after all. And, there's Jeremy waiting for me to sit next to him, in our usual seats.
“Hey, baby,” he says, kissing me on my neck as I settle into my desk.
“You better stop that,” I say, not really wanting him too. “You remember what happened last time you kissed my neck, Dracula,” I say referring to the hickeys still prominent under my makeup. I wear it all day, even when I go to bed, to keep Mama from seeing.
“Don't tell me you're once bitten, twice shy, Jayd,” he says, sitting back in his chair, looking ready for a good nap. The substitute is too busy trying to take roll and deal with students already asking for hall passes. I feel sorry for the subs at this school. White kids are the best hustlers when it comes to ditching. Speaking of which, the ditch queen herself, Tania and crew are next to approach the sub for a pass of their own, I assume.
“Hey, Jeremy,” Tania says on her way to the teacher's desk, looking like she wants to take a bite out of him. “Checked your e-mail lately?” she says, passing up our desks while looking directly at me, even though she's supposedly talking to him. This broad knows something about Nellie's picture. I can feel it.
“No, why?” Jeremy says, taking out his cell phone, ready to pull up the Internet.
“Yeah, Tania, why should he check his e-mail?” I ask, ready to pounce on this heffa. If she had anything to do with Nellie's picture being e-mailed, I'm going to get wicked on her ass.
“Oh, no reason. Just thought he might like to see some new pics I noticed when I checked mine a little while ago,” she says with a sinful grin on her face.
“What do you know about the picture?” I say, quickly rising from my seat and getting in her face. Her two homegirls step up a little closer, ready for whatever's about to go down. As fast as my blood's rushing, I could probably take all three of them down.
“Calm down, Little Kim,” Tania says. “I don't know anything, except that your girl's campaign just went down the toilet and so did her reputation,” she says, laughing with her girls.
“Why the hell is this funny to you?” I say, now yelling and causing the entire class to look our way. Jeremy, who's standing right behind me, grabs my arm, trying to get me to calm down. But, I'm just getting warmed up. “Aren't you and Nellie on the same team?” I say, reminding her they're both being sponsored by the Drama Club for homecoming court.
“Oh, come on, Jayd. Even you can't be that dense,” she says, flipping her thick hair over her shoulder. If it's one thing I can't stand, it's a girl of any color trying to be White. She's about to get the shit slapped out of her and maybe some consciousness knocked in. “She's never going to win that crown. At least not as long as my girl Laura's running,” Tania says, referring to Reid's girlfriend.
Oh, hell no. They're not friends, are they? Now, see what I say about these people up here being undercover haters. But wait until the folks in South Central find out about their little stunt. Then we'll see who's got the real power around here.
“OK, ladies,” Jeremy says, sensing the volatile situation coming to a head. “Let's calm down. We don't need to get into this right now, do we?”
“The hell we don't,” I say ready to throw the first blow. This heffa's been having it coming to her ever since she flirted with my man right in front of me. She's always throwing salt and now she's about to taste some on her lip.
“Do I need to call security, girls?” the aging male substitute says, as if he's really got any control. He's already pulled out two office referral slips. By the time he puts our names down, the fight will be over.
“What are you going to do, jump me?” Tania says, completely unaffected by my anger. This broad's gotten away with too much jaw jackin' in her day. It's time to let her feel the impact of her words. “Hitting me won't do anything, especially not help your friend with her little problem,” Tania says, confident I won't hurt her.
“What exactly are you two talking about,” Jeremy asks, completely unaware. He probably thinks it has something to do with him.
“She's talking about this,” Tania says, pulling out her pink rhinestone covered blackberry, with the picture of Nellie on her screen.
“Damn,” Jeremy says, staring at the picture of Nellie next to her gym locker, totally unaware of her picture being snapped. That's when I realize it could have just as easily been a girl who took the picture. Who else would have access to get that close with an unnoticeable camera in her phone, just like Tania's. This heffa's guilty and I know it.
“You stupid wench,” I yell, snatching the electronic device out of her hand and smashing it to the ground.
“Shit,” Tania screams, falling on the ground to pick up her cracked up blackberry. “You little hoodrat,” she says. “You probably couldn't repay me for this if your whole family worked for a week,” she says, two seconds shy of her face hitting the ground like her gadget did. Before I can pimp slap her like the trick she is, Jeremy intervenes.
“Come on, baby. Let's get some air,” Jeremy says, catching me by both elbows and keeping me from attacking Tania, who's still on the floor.
“I don't want to get air. I want a confession,” I say, trying to break free from Jeremy's tight grasp. “Just admit it, Tania. Be a woman about your shit,” I yell as Jeremy picks me up and carries me out of the classroom into the empty hallway.
“Why are you defending her?” I yell at him. “Let me back in there so I can whip her ass like the trick she is.”
“Jayd, calm down. You don't know if she did it or not,” he says, still not letting me loose. “Do you want to be suspended again?” he says, trying to reason with me.
“What's going on out here,” Mickey says, coming into the hallway. Nellie and Mickey's class isn't far from here and knowing them, they were running late from break. I didn't want to tell them like this. But, it's better now than later.
“Have y'all heard about Nellie's picture on the web?” I ask, trying to soften the blow for Nellie.
“Yeah, Seth told me he used the one of me from prom last year,” she says, completely oblivious to what I'm about to say. Mickey, on the other hand, looks as if she already knows.
“She's not talking about that picture, Nellie,” Mickey says, looking from me to Nellie, letting me break the bad news. As pissed as we both are at her for her behavior, she's still our girl and we don't like seeing her hurt.
“Nellie, someone took a picture of you changing in the girl's locker room and sent a mass e-mail.” Nellie becomes the picture of pure rage. Now, this is new.
“I want to see it,” Nellie says, looking around for the nearest computer, I assume.
“Here it is,” Jeremy says, showing her the image he just downloaded onto his cell. Me and my girls have simple cell phones that don't do all of this new stuff. And, if they do, Mickey and I can't afford the extra expense and Nellie's parents wouldn't go for something that extravagant, so why bother knowing about it? “I'm sorry about this, Nellie,” Jeremy says, looking as sorry as I feel.
“This was yesterday after lunch,” she says. “I was changing out of my rally outfit and back into my school clothes.” Maybe if she wasn't so damn vain in the first place she wouldn't be in this mess. But, we'll deal with her sins another time. Right now, vengeance is mine to take out on her enemies. “Who would want to do this to me?” she asks, like she hasn't made plenty of her own haters.
“I don't know for sure, but I've got a pretty good idea,” I say. “Misty's trying to find out if anyone said anything in the boy's locker room. But, I think Tania had something to do with it.”
“You don't know that for sure,” Jeremy says, again defending the broad. What's up with that? He's my man now. He's supposed to be down with me unconditionally. Not reasoning with the opposition, even if it is his ex lover.
“Yes, I do,” I say, rolling my eyes and neck at him and looking at Nellie, who doesn't seem convinced of my accusations either.
“Why would you say that?” Nellie says, as if it's not at all possible.
“Well, first of all, she was with you yesterday in the locker room,” I say, remembering them walking off the field together after the rally ended. “Also, she was the one who broke the news in government class a few minutes ago,” I say. I can't believe I have to defend myself against Tania after I was ready to throw blows with her over Nellie's reputation. Ain't this some twisted BS.